Tourists' Swanner delivers big blows
The Rockies' No. 15 prospect homered twice as Class A Asheville routed West Virginia, 16-0, on Monday.
Swanner's first blast came in the third inning with the bases loaded, giving the Tourists a 7-0 lead. The 20-year-old catcher doubled home a run in the fifth and capped his big night with a two-run homer in the seventh.
"I'm very happy," Swanner said. "I was just feeling fastball. I was getting the counts I wanted to be in, seeing the ball the way I liked and driving the ball."
Swanner, who scored four times, had driven in five runs twice last year with short-season Casper, on June 24 and July 4. While the former 15th-rounder appreciated Monday's night at the plate, he rates it behind his Independence Day effort.
"I think it's probably my second," he said. "Last year on July 4 I hit a walk-off, that's something you don't forget."
Tourists right-hander Vianney Mayo retired the first 12 batters of the game before allowing a leadoff double in the fifth and ended up striking out nine in a complete-game three-hitter.
"His performance was excellent, I've never caught a shutout before," Swanner said. "Everything he wanted to throw, he threw for strikes. I think I'm more happy for my pitcher and catching a shutout. That's more of a team thing. I was so happy for him after the last strikeout, I kept the ball and gave it to him."
Swanner is coming off an All-Star season in the Pioneer League, batting .264 with 10 homers in 43 games for the Ghosts in 2011. He spent the winter working out in preparation for his Class A debut.
"Basically a lot of lifting in the offseason and trying to bulk up since I'm a catcher," Swanner said. "I played a lot of long toss and I did a lot of hitting with my coach and got after it, knowing that Spring Training was going to be huge."
Trevor Story, Colorado's No. 8 prospect, was 3-for-5 with a homer and three runs for Asheville.
Robert Emrich is a contributor to MLB.com.